As the mayoral and aldermanic elections near in Chicago … what is happening to the recently redrawn 34th ward? Reporter Margot Amouyal investigates and speaks with one of the two aldermanic candidates of the area.
MARGOT: I am currently inside of an Artopolis Bakery, a cafe in Chicago’s Greektown neighborhood in the near west side.
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MARGOT: I am here to meet with Jim Ascott, one of the two candidates vying to become alderman of the area I am currently in – the 34th ward, which covers parts of Greektown, The Loop, West Loop, and Fulton River District.
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MARGOT: From WNUR News, you’re listening to news at 6. This episode? The Chicago aldermanic elections in the 34th ward.
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JIM (20:25): If there is anything I can leave behind, it’s a commitment to service. That is why I am stepping up to be an alderman.
MARGOT: That was Ascott. Over the past 20+ years, he has worked as a real estate developer in Chicago, and immigrated to the United States from Greece when he was 9 years old. He said his heritage makes this ward particularly important to him.
MARGOT: Ascott said some of his priorities for the ward include implementing community foot policing initiatives,reopening the mental health facilities closed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, adding street lights and building a coalition of nonprofits to deal with homelessness. But, most important of all to Ascott? Crime – the unquestionable dominating issue of the 2023 Chicago elections.
JIM: The most important of all is the safety and crime issue. That’s number one of everybody I talked to. I think that for me, as a former psychologist and crisis intervention person, the first thing we need to do is look at this crisis and intervene by having foot patrols in major areas.
MARGOT: According to Ascott’s Linkedin and campaign fliers, he received a Ph.D. in crisis intervention at Columbia Pacific University, which was closed down by a California court order in 2000 due to awarding students excessive credits, failing to employ qualified faculty and failure to meet various requirements for issuing Ph.D. degrees.
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MARGOT: Ascott is competing against Bill Conway, a Navy veteran and former prosecutor, for the role of alderperson. Conway has received an endorsement from Gov. JB Pritzker and ranked over $400,000 in campaign donations, supported by top executives at Citadel, Madison Dearborn Partners and Doordash. Meanwhile, Ascott has raised nearly $60,000 for his campaign.
JIM: Having my opponent who sends out a flier at work, obviously, name recognition is important. But, you can’t buy your votes, you have to appeal to people.
MARGOT: But, if you are looking for a debate between the two candidates, you probably won’t find one. Conway, Ascott’s opponent, has repeatedly denied attempts for a debate, saying he was too busy. Earlier the month, the two candidates were supposed to debate at a University of Illinois Chicago forum, but Conway once again dropped out. The Ascot slate responded by offering 24 alternative dates to debate, but Conway once again said he did not have the availability.
JIM: I really don’t deal with negativity, and I refuse to step into that … we’ve asked for forums and debates and basically he hasn’t shown up. Yeah, I don’t understand that either.
MARGOT: I was also curious how Ascott has been reflecting on his prior attempts to enter politics. In 2006 and 2010, he ran unsuccessfully to represent Illinois’ 7th Congressional District.
JIM: I appreciated being out there and articulating the national issues, so it was a good experience. Obviously, I couldn’t win, but it was worthwhile. That was a while ago, but this came up, I figured, okay, maybe I could do it on a local level and support my city.
MARGOT: Conway also has a history of trying to enter politics unsuccessfully. In 2020, Conway tried to unseat current Attorney General Kim Foxx. Conway’s father, William Conway, the billionaire co-founder of the private equity firm the Carlyle Group, donated $10.5 million to his son’s campaign. Conway ended up losing by just under 50%, but made history through inspiring the most expensive attorney general election in Chicago history.
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MARGOT: Moving forward, Ascott hopes to use his active listening skills, psychological background and experience in real estate to lead the 34th ward.
JIM: I think being able to listen to what people are telling you and then craft solutions or comments, I think that’s what is needed.
MARGOT: Chicago mayoral and aldermanic elections are now open for early voting, and voting closes on Feb. 28. The 34th ward polling place is on the 6th floor of the UIC Student Center.
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Margot: Reporting for WNUR News, I’m Margot Amouyal.
